FIRST SEMESTER FOLLOW-UP TIPS

 

1.     Attendance – Please be aware that regular school attendance is extremely important for maintaining good grades and accessing special programs.

2.    Student progress – Parents are able to access grades through the parent access system available to you through our technology department.  Progress reports will be mailed around February 15th and April 15th.  Parent/Teacher conferences are February 22nd.  Please contact teachers if you have concerns about your student’s grades.

3.    Extreme Math is available to your student Monday-Thursday from 2:25-3:15pm. Students can ask for a late bus pass that will allow them to ride the 4:00pm bus.

4.    Course Withdrawal – Students are able to change classes during the first ten days of the semester.  After that, class drops will result in a W/P or W/F and a study hall.  At midterm, drops are given an automatic F which will be averaged into your student’s GPA.

2010-2011 COURSE SELECTIONS

 

Counselors have been meeting with your students to make course selections for next year.  Schedules will include core curricular classes as well as student selected elective classes.  Graduation requirements include four years of English and Physical Education; three years of Math, Science and Social Science; and one class in Consumer Education.  Each semester one-hour class earns a half of credit and in order to graduate from BHS, students must earn 23.5 credits. To be classified as a sophomore your student must have 6.0 credits, junior status requires 12.0 credits and seniors must begin the year with 16.5 credits.  Please contact your child’s counselor if you have questions about their schedule for next year.

AREA CAREER CENTER APPLICATIONS

 

Students who are interested in ACC coursework are advised that there is a BHS/AVC application screening process.  All requests must be signed and submitted to the Guidance Office by January 29th.  Second year students must follow the same application procedure.  ACC classes take two class periods during the day, so one credit is earned each semester.  Once applications are screened and approved, adjustments will be made to accommodate the choice on your student’s schedule.

                                                                                                              

FINANCIAL AID NOTES

 

All seniors applying for financial aid will need to complete the FAFSA after January 1st.  There is a FAFSA worksheet in the yellow “Plan for Your Future” publication that is published by the Guidance Office. To electronically sign and submit your form, both the student and a parent must request a PIN, which can be done at www.pin.ed.gov. Be wary of organizations that charge a fee to submit your application or find you money for college.  In general, the help you pay for can be obtained for free from your college or from Student Financial Aid.  The Area Career Center is offering FAFSA Workshops to help you through the process.  They are in the ACC lab, room 156.  Please bring: a) state ID or driver’s license, b) parent’s social security number, c) parent’s date of birth, d) completed parents’ 2009 tax return and, e) completed student 2009 tax return (if employed).  Dates are: January 12th 2:30-4:00pm, January 14th 4:30-6:30pm, January 19th 2:30-4:00pm, January 21st 4:30-6:30pm, January 26th 2:30-4:00pm, January 28th 4:30-6:30pm,

February 2nd 2:30-4:00pm, February 4th 4:30-6:30pm, February 9th 2:30-4:00pm, and

February 11th 4:30-6:30pm.  Please sign up with “Sarge” in room 156 as space is limited to 15 per session. His number is (309)829-8671, extension 5184.

 

If you are preparing to file your federal financial aid form or you want an idea of what college costs, check out ACT’s free financial aid need estimator at www.act.org. The estimator can calculate both your family contribution and costs at specific institutions.  The calculator does not provide official results, but because it uses the federal financial aid formula to calculate results, the estimates will be helpful as you plan your college funding.

 

COUNSELOR CORNER

 

One of the biggest challenges of parenting teens is in knowing when to loosen the rules and when to tighten them.   Balancing freedom and control will result in shaping your teen into a responsible adult who can make decisions.  Here are a few suggestions:

·         Decide which rules cannot be compromised.  Safety should be your first consideration and should play a part in what you and your teen decide.  Set clear rules and consequences for those areas where you will not budge.

·         Negotiate flexible areas.  Listen to what your teen has to say and choose rules that you both can live with. 

·         If your teen shows responsibility, then allow him/her to make more decisions as time goes by.  Begin with smaller things (hairstyles, clothes) and work up to larger issues (money and time management).  Try granting a new right along with a new responsibility every couple of months.  Example:  a later curfew along with cooking dinner for the family once a month.  If your teen abuses their new freedom, return to stricter rules.